Cony finished the boys lacrosse regular season a perfect 12-0, yet didn’t get one of the rewards that often awaits a team that submits an unblemished record — the No. 1 seed.
The Rams ended up less than half a Heal point behind Camden Hills — also 12-0 — for the top spot in the final Class B North standings. But Cony coach Chad Foye said his team doesn’t feel slighted by the oft-criticized Heal points formula.
“We’re happy to be the No. 2 seed and happy to be in the playoffs,” said Foye, who is in his seventh season as Cony’s head coach.
“It was pretty tight between us and Camden Hills, but we’ve had a real good season,” added Foye, whose team will face the winner of the preliminary round game between No. 7 Lawrence and No. 10 Gardiner in the quarterfinals. “(The unbeaten record) means a lot. We had to really battle to get it. We were down a couple of times and came back. As a program, we haven’t been as successful as this in a long time, or ever as long as I’ve been coaching.”
The Heal points in boys and girls lacrosse were finalized Friday.
In boys, Brunswick and Scarborough are the top seeds in Class A North and South, respectively. Camden Hills and Cape Elizabeth earned the top spots in Class B.
In girls, Messalonskee is the top seed in A North, Marshwood in A South. Morse and Kennebunk emerged as the No. 1 seeds in Class B North and South, respectively.
Prelims start Saturday, with the quarterfinals scheduled to begin Tuesday, although some games may be move so as not to conflict with graduation and other activities.
The Messalonskee girls (11-1) earned the top seed for the second year in a row and begin their regional title defense against No. 8 Cheverus (3-9) in a quarterfinal match set for 4 p.m. Wednesday in Oakland. The Eagles beat the Stags 19-7 on April 30. Coach Ashley Pullen likes how her team’s bracket sets up because Cheverus and her team’s potential semifinal opponent, Edward Little or Mt. Ararat, will be familiar foes.
“We certainly don’t want to overlook Cheverus, but going in against a team we already beat pretty handily is good,” said Pullen, whose team plays Lewiston in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A championship at Thomas College at 2 p.m. on Saturday. “The good thing about playing either Edward Little or Mt. Ararat is we’ve seen them both, as opposed to a team like (second-seeded) Windham (which the Eagles have not played).”
Class B North is the only region with more than eight teams eligible for the tournament, which requires a preliminary round. The two matchups feature four KVAC teams but only two with a regular-season track record.
No. 7 Erskine hosts No. 10 Camden Hills in one prelim. The teams finished with identical 6-6 records and split their two regular-season meetings, with each team winning on their home field — 4-3 Eagles in South China, 8-4 Windjammers in Rockport. The winner will meet No. 2 St. Dominic in the quarterfinals.
No. 8 Oceanside and No. 7 Cony play in the other preliminary after posting matching 6-6 records, as well. The two teams did not play during the regular season. The winner faces No. 1 Morse in the quarterfinals.
No. 4 Gardiner (7-5) earned a bye to the quarterfinals and will take on No. 5 Boothbay (10-2) of the Mountain Valley Conference at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
After resolving a three-way tie in the Heal points among Lawrence, Lincoln and Mt. Blue with coin flips, the B South boys preliminaries hold the same pattern of four KVAC teams with one rematch. No. 8 Lincoln (6-6) hosts No. 9 Mt. Blue (5-7) in the first at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Each team won on its home field — Lincoln 7-6, Mt. Blue 7-5 — early in the regular season. The winner faces Camden Hills.
No. 7 Lawrence (5-7) and No. 10 Gardiner (5-7) will meet for the first time this season in the other prelim, which is 6 p.m. Monday, for the right to face Cony in the quarterfinals.
One of the quarterfinals already set pits KVAC rivals No. 4 Winslow (8-4) against No. 5 Maranacook/Winthrop (7-5) at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Thomas College. The Hawks beat the Black Raiders, 8-5, at the same venue in their season-opener on April 23. But both coaches agree their teams have changed dramatically in the interim.
“We’ve had a tough go with injuries and we’re not the same team,” Maranacook/Winthrop coach Zach Stewart said. “We’re filling spots in and Winslow seems to have climbed and become a very good team.”
Stewart said freshmen Alex Nuce and Tucker Nussinow have stepped up their games in the absence of star senior midfielder Zach Lacasse, who re-aggravated a knee injury in the season-finale against Brunswick. But that does tilt the experience edge more toward senior-laden Winslow, which has won six of its last seven.
“Every game, we’ve gotten a little bit better and the offense is clicking a little more each week,” he said. “If we’re going to do well, our seniors are going to have to lead us.”
Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638
rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com
Twitter:@RAWmaterial33
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